Consent

 

Dear Friend,

Each and every one of us, from the moment of conception, is given life so that we may become the person God calls us to be. God sustains our very being, granting to us endless opportunities to draw near to Him in an intimate communion of faith, hope and love. And yet, He does not force us into relationship with Him. He welcomes us.

Difficulties beckon us to accept easy and cheap forms of relief from the labours and trials of this life. Our resolve can be weakened to the point of despair should we forget to engage in daily spiritual practices which dispose us to God's grace. Through those moments, we give our consent to God.

If one is not a believer, one can all too easily descend into a world of chaos and habitual disorientation. It's one thing to engage risk in a calculated manner to improve one's character and knowledge. However, we shouldn't go looking for morally hazardous opportunities to further complicate our lives. As it is, there are plenty of situations that might supply us with challenges to our sense of equilibrium and well being. Being frozen in the middle of mediocrity, for example, or tossed about by bizarre encounters or a relationship going sideways, or unsettled by a loss of job or workplace oppression, or by daily upsets that multiply doubts, can send us for a loop. We're lucky, or so we think, if we fall and merely land on our faces and escape with a few bruises. Shame, guilt, embarrassment, anger, frustration and misery, however, are like acid pouring over our hearts and reputations, dissolving commonsense and erasing sensitivity to spiritual matters.

Fear not, friend. Enter into Jesus' merciful way, whereupon you will find your true self beyond the hassles, debilitating emotional pressures, dead and dry pursuits, financial ruin and hardship, or any number of ups and downs on the trampoline of life. Saint Paul reminds us:

(I)f we have died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with him. For we know that Christ being raised from the dead will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him. The death he died he died to sin, once for all, but the life he lives he lives to God. So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus.

Crises are no playgrounds. Crises are crossroads at which point we either decide to turn toward God and walk with Him - because He is already walking with us - or fade away from Him, and become fragmented by attempts to medicate ourselves, indulging excess and obsessions that empty into an ocean of despair. We may be swimming for our lives in that same ocean, and there Jesus calls to us, to reach out. We may be sinking, as Peter was after he leapt from the boat to meet Jesus walking on the waters (St Matthew 14:22-33). When Peter's faith began to waver, Jesus took Peter's outstretched hand, saving him from drowning. When we get in over our heads, we can reach out, and Jesus will take our hand, and lift us up. We can then breathe easy knowing He surrounds us with his care and walks with us.

Then (Jesus) made the disciples get into the boat and go before him to the other side, while he dismissed the crowds. And after he had dismissed the crowds, he went up into the hills by himself to pray. When evening came, he was there alone, but the boat by this time was many furlongs distant from the land, beaten by the waves; for the wind was against them. And in the fourth watch of the night he came to them, walking on the sea. But when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were terrified, saying, “It is a ghost!” And they cried out for fear. But immediately he spoke to them, saying, “Take heart, it is I; have no fear.”

And Peter answered him, “Lord, if it is you, bid me come to you on the water.” He said, “Come.” So Peter got out of the boat and walked on the water and came to Jesus; but when he saw the wind, he was afraid, and beginning to sink he cried out, “Lord, save me.” Jesus immediately reached out his hand and caught him, saying to him, “O man of little faith, why did you doubt?” And when they got into the boat, the wind ceased. And those in the boat worshiped him, saying, “Truly you are the Son of God.”

“Take heart, it is I; have no fear.” Those words can and will liberate us if we allow Jesus to enter our hearts. That means making ourselves vulnerable perhaps when we most fear change. Jesus will rescue us; he will calm the storms and transform our lives, and we will become the persons God intends us to be.

Where do we meet Jesus? In His Church. In the Mass. Jesus is truly present in His community, the Church, and in the Holy Eucharist that Catholics have always believed, since Christ established His Catholic Church, is really and truly the very Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity of Jesus Christ. He, Himself, will make His home you in when you invite Him to reside there in your heart. Leave behind any doubt, any and all fear, and embrace the only one Who can give you the peace and strength to forge ahead toward hope and joy.

How do we hear the voice of Jesus? Pray. Start with the Our Father, also known as The Lord's Prayer, since it was given to us by the Lord Himself.

Our Father Who art in Heaven, hallowed be Thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done on earth, as it is in Heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us, and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.

Give your consent to God to enter into your life.

Jesus, I want to believe; please help me. I realize now my preoccupation with lesser things has left me empty. My life has become meaningless, and I am miserable. I need your help to change and to be free. Help me to love you so that I may live in perfect freedom, and to live life with a heart filled with your love. Lead me, shape me, dear Jesus, in your way of truth, goodness and beauty.